Chapter 2: Page 52

Some fun world lore dropped in this week’s page! We also get our very first drop of the name people call the “world” of “Beyond the Western Deep” — Dunia. The word has its real-world roots in over a dozen Middle Eastern languages as meaning “the world”, encompassing both the physical concept and the plights of those who live on it.

Of course, the story of High King Aeslid has its roots in a great many “heroic tales” of ages past. Here it is delivered as a reference to a well-known Ermehn tale, though I do believe we will revisit this in-world legend in similar form to how we visited the story of the Fall of Tesque, during an extended page hiatus.

The web store is pretty much done-done, the only factor holding it up has been the logistics of shipping physical goods to people. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that shipping quantities of things to people all over in numbers greater than “one” is a tricky business! Based on the advice of a few folks who have operated web stores themselves, I’ve decided to run with USPS Flat Fate so people get a fair deal on shipping compared to something like FedEx (who wants to pay more based on mileage??).

Anyway, I’m just waiting for the shipping supplies to arrive before launching the store, so when somebody orders a thing it can go out ASAP. We’re getting close! You can all reasonably expect the store to go live on the site sometime this upcoming week!

This is actually a huge milestone for BWD. Having a series of myths and legends known to the characters in a story (a mythos within a mythos) is one of the hallmarks of a truly great world for a story to take place in. It makes a world much more believable. We got some of this with the legend of Tesque, but that was explanatory and not given to us in-comic.

Two of the best examples are Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Both universes have ancient legends about what happened long ago, and it is often left unclear how much of the legends are true and how much is fabrication.

Keep writing, Alex. Keep drawing, Rachel. As long as you keep impressing me by doing things like this, I’ll keep coming back for more.

DID SOMEONE SAY MYTHOLOGY *cough* I mean, Hardin is coming off slightly snarky this page, ha. But it’s nice to know what the overall world of Western Deep is called, as well as that the Ermehn evidently had a famous king or a myth concerning/embellishing the tale of their famous leader. I wouldn’t expect there to be a monarch involved in a tribal society, but he could have ruled over all the tribes, and seeing that the Ermehn seemed less prone to wander before the Canid kinda threw them into exodus, that might be another factor. Great job as always, guys!

Ashtor refers to him as “High King” Dunia, so maybe he was like the boss king over all the tribal kings? Like the High King Math in the Chronicles of Prydain books. There were lesser kings with their own provinces, such as King Smoit and King Morgant, but High King Math was ruler of the entire land. The tribes could have originally all had their own provinces, but there isn’t exactly much to structure in the Northern Wastes.

Now I’m curious if the other races have their own names for the world of if it’s universally used.

That certainly seems a possibility. Maybe he’s like King Arthur, thought–he’s supposed to return when the British, I mean Ermehn, need him most (which would explain why the Ermehn believe that Hardin is his reincarnation.

I have no evidence to support this, but based on Alex’s comments above, I feel like “Dunia” is a universal name for the world (like how “English” is a sort of mother language in this world).

See my above post for why I believe that the inclusion of a mythology is a superb choice from a story standpoint.

huh, I assumed that Aeslid must’ve been some ancient ruler who controlled all of Dunia and united all the races one upon a time. I mean…with a grand title like “High King” after all. But it begs to question what was Ermehn society like before the Canid Revolution. I figured it used to be tribeless since they used to have castles and what not, basically similiar to how Canid society works. But maybe the Ermehn were like the Nords of Skyrim where their tribes came from different sections of the Ermehn people and were ruled under a Jarl like government.

I wonder what kind of religion the Ermehn have – is it ancestor worship, with characters like Tesque and others taking the roles of gods, or something else? In fact, are the religions of this world species specific (not unlike Judaism) or are there universal faiths that are practiced across nation borders? Interesting stuff!

Ashtor you’re killing me here, trying to comfort/encourage Hardin before a fight that could very well end up with everyone dead, but won’t because then who are the villains here? (Spoiler alert: Quinlan was the villain all along now shhh)

Hardin, is that a little snark I’m detecting from you? Hm, but then the next panel indicates he’s semi serious. I’m curious to see what he says next!

WORLDBUILDING YAHSS do all the races in Dunia worship the same deities with a different emphasis on which deity they follow or is there a different roster of pantheons for everyone?

the stooore so close so close sooo closee.

I love the dreary look to the page, and the crackle of heat lightning in the last panel. Rachel you are wonderful at capturing mood.

Who are you calling an “impudent mortal,” you cheeky blob of flesh? >:u And yeah, the first link sure as snot wasn’t Hardin’s theme, snort. The Offspring works though. For some reason I can never pinpoint character themes when the character isn’t mine, though I can find ones fitting for scenes. My brain doesn’t like doing the former too often.

With learning that the world being called Dunia and knowing that there is a High King Aeslid…and the fact that Hardin believes in higher powers, I cant help for my overly active rpg mind getting giddy over seeing potential fantasy elements playing a role in BWD (besides the talking animal people of course). Although the narrative and world is strong enough to not rely on typical fantasy tropes, it would still be sorta cool seeing magical forces at work here…..but that’s just me.

And somebody PLEASE make a gif.meme out of that “conceited Hardin” pose in first panel.

I understand that Hardin is wanting revenge on the wolves that took their lands away or probably wants revenge for losing his family.Maybe or maybe not? I believe taking down the fort would be foolish . He would be putting his people in danger.

Well, after a big of finagling and figuring out postage things, I think we’re in a good spot to start rolling out the online store. You will find a brand new link up at the top of the page (also it’s http://westerndeep.bigcartel.com).

Keep in mind I’m new to this whole “ship physical goods to people” thing, so until I figure out a good rhythm for packing and shipping in tune with my day job, orders may be a little slow out of the gate (by like a day or two).

Also, international orders may require a little getting used to. If the site doesn’t let you order something because you’re out of the country, send me an email at thewesterndeep(at)gmail(dot)com and let me know what’s up.

I got my books today. Considering I had ordered my textbooks one/two days before I ordered the Precious, I didn’t expect to get The Precious so soon.

I am not ashamed at all to admit that I squealed when I realized that the return address was headed with “Alex Kain” because someone who was checking their mail at the campus mailroom said, “With a squeal like that, whatever you’re getting must be good.”

This person is now borrowing my spare copy of the Precious. I would have you know, Rachel, that she specifically commented on the quality art. (I //knew// buying a recruitment copy was a good idea)

Speaking of extend page hiatuses, have you two ever thought about doing guest comics on this site? It’s a good way to keep up a buffer when available pages get low.
Anyways, great to see the first volume up in the store!